ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Northwestern welcomed MIAC opponent Saint Mary's University to the Ericksen Center to kick off a weekend of home court volleyball action. In the Eagles second consecutive five-set match, the squad came out on top with set scores of 21-25, 25-18, 25-13, 21-25 and 15-10.
 
With the non-conference win, Northwestern improves to 18-5 overall (12-0 UMAC). The Cardinals fall to 11-9 overall and are 3-4 in MIAC play.
 
After dropping set one by four points, Northwestern edged Saint Mary's by seven in set two thanks to a .395 team attack average. With the momentum change, the Eagles kept pace in set three, winning by a decisive 25-13 score and hit .455 collectively.
 
Set four swung in favor of the Cardinals after they got off to an early lead and never trailed. In set five, the Eagles took a 5-2 advantage to start, but Saint Mary's orchestrated a 4-0 run to tie it up at 6-6. The Northwestern crowd erupted when the Eagles went on another 4-0 skid thanks to a huge block from Anna Gasch (Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock) and Hope Kapelke (Ft. Atkinson, Wisc./Ft. Atkinson) followed by back-to-back kills from Mariah Halvorsen (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) and Gasch. The Eagles secured the victory with a 15-10 final.
 
Three Northwestern players recorded double-digit kill totals on the night led by Mariah Halvorsen (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata). Halvorsen finished with 23 kills (.340) and added 14 digs. Jenay Fuglestad (Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian) recorded 18 kills (.326) and Kalley Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./Central Minnesota Christian) knocked in 10 in addition to picking up 23 digs.
 
Freshman setter Sydney Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY) was credited with 57 assists. Freya Hanson (Otsego, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) added 24 digs and Peyton Wright (Littleton, Colo./Parker) dug up 10.

Tonight's win brought Northwestern's all-time record with Saint Mary's to 10-10. The Eagles have won the last three straight. 

UNW will return to action tomorrow when they host the Northwestern Quad. The Eagles will take on UW-River Falls at 11 a.m. followed by UW-Oshkosh at 1 p.m. Follow the Eagles online this year at www.unweagles.com or on Twitter and Instagram at @unwvb.